I began a Safari Books Online subscription at the beginning of this semester. At the time I began, there were two tiers: 10 books a month or unlimited.

I took the 10 books a month because it was substantially cheaper and I didn’t think it was possible to need more than ten programming books a month. I decided to do this specifically because I bought some Objective-C books a few years ago and this language changes so rapidly that there seems no reason to own a paper copy of the book. Once it is a year old, it is worthless and can’t be used or resold.

I only had this subscription for a week before it became oppressive. I am learning both iOS and Java. There are so many resources out there for both of these that I wanted to know more! I wanted to learn about Data Structures and Test Driven Design and OpenGL. There was so much to do and so much information! How can I confine myself to just ten books?!

Well, recently my husband started a business and I can now have my unlimited access. My mind is sponging with all the information out there. Python! Ruby! C! Core Audio! Photoshop! Logic Synthesizers!

I realize I can’t know everything. I can’t read all that there is and even if I could, it will all change in a few months anyway.

It is extremely frustrating to know that there is all this beautiful information out there in the world and with my limited human lifespan I can only absorb a fraction of it. Life is too short!

I wish I were Jamie Maddrox from the X-Men comic book universe. His mutant power is the ability to split himself into hundreds of different instances and to be able to go out and live a hundred lives and then combine to one shared experience.

I don’t know if this is exciting or if it is a punishment from God. Either way…